Chapter 4

Sheriff Rob Anderson rolled his eyes heavenward as he sat in his office. Even with his door closed he could hear the bickering out in the main room. He’d never seen anything like the constant fighting that had been going on lately. His nighttime deputies were the only two officers who seemed to have retained their common sense.

When the volume of the voices rose even more, Rob reached the end of his patience. Getting up, he slammed out of his office, striding swiftly into the other room.

He let out a shrill whistle. “Shut the hell up!”

His four daytime officers stopped shouting immediately.

“What’s the matter with you all? Have you lost your minds? What if the mayor walked in here with you acting like that? Do you think you should be paid for standing around yelling at each other when there’s important work to be done?” he demanded.

Cy clammed up, scowling at Brock who glared back at him. Ellie flopped down in her desk chair and stared at her desk. Hunter wasn’t sure what to do, so he just stayed standing by his desk.

Rob pointed at Cy and Brock. “You two need to grow the heck up and stop baiting each other. You’re acting worse than my grandkids do. I know that you weren’t best friends when Brock married your sister, Cy, but I thought you’d come to an understanding.”

Cy said, “He always wants things his way and it’s my house.”

“Correction; used to be your house. You and Leigh are moving to the new house, which I wish was already built.”

“You’re not the only one,” Cy said.

“Enough! This is exactly what I’m talking about!” Rob said. “Cy you’re gonna have to accept that Brock and Daphne will do things differently once you and Leigh move out. Brock, Cy and Leigh are still in the house, so be more respectful of that fact.” He looked at Ellie and Hunter. “What’s wrong with you two?”

Ellie crossed her arms over her chest, staying silent.

“They’re fighting about Walt,” Cy said.

Ellie’s head whipped around, her blue eyes spitting fire. “He didn’t ask you, Cy.”

Rob shook his head. “Why do you care so much about whether Ellie sees Walt, Hunter? I thought you were seeing Georgia?”

Hunter shook his head. “It’s not like that. I am seeing Georgia. I’m just worried about Ellie, that’s all.”

“I can take care of myself, Hunter. Besides, I’m not seeing Walt,” Ellie said. “So, don’t keep acting up whenever he comes in here.”

“I can’t help it. I hate the guy,” Hunter said. “There’s something wrong with him.”

Rob rubbed his forehead in frustration. “Okay. Here’s what’s gonna happen. Until you can all start acting like adults again, no more discussing personal matters at work. You come in, you do your job and leave all that other stuff at home.

“Hunter, control this hate of yours. Walt comes here to do a job and I expect you to do yours. Ellie, I don’t know what happened with you and Walt, but it’s nobody’s business, either. I want you to work with Cy this week, and Brock, you work with Hunter. Maybe changing partners will help things,” Rob said. “And if that doesn’t solve it, I’ll fire all you and find people who can put the job first.”

Giving them all a stern look, he went back into his office and slammed the door shut.

As the four officers stood around looking at each other, Walt came in the door, giving them his usual affable smile. Ellie and Hunter both groaned in dismay, but for different reasons.

Walt stopped, his brow knitted in confusion. “Good mornin’,” he said, uncertainly.

Hunter’s expression darkened. “It was until you showed up.”

In seconds, Walt’s expression turned hard, his jaw clenching and his gaze cooling as he focused on Hunter. “Look, boyo, I’ve done nothin’ to ya. I don’t know why ya have it in for me, but ya need to use yer noggin’ and look at the evidence.”

“What do you mean?”

Cy barely suppressed a smile. Hunter was about to get a taste of Walt’s courtroom prowess.

Walt took off his glasses and cleaned them with his handkerchief. “Name one thing I’ve done wrong, whether to you or anyone else. Just one thing.”

Hunter crossed his arms over his chest. “You broke Ellie’s heart.”

Walt laughed and Ellie gasped at his statement.

“I didn’t break her heart. Not that it’s any of yer business, but she broke mine. She doesn’t love me, but I love her. However, she made it clear to me that she’s not interested in a relationship with me. So, yer assumption is dead wrong. What other accusations do I need to address? Brock, ye’ve known me for a long time. Have ya ever known me to be negative in any way to you or anyone else?”

“No. Never.”

“Exactly. Oh, that reminds me. May I use yer telephone when I’m done with my client so I can call Wheels? I want to see if he’s available later today so I can discuss his case with him.”

Brock nodded. “Sure. I know he really appreciates your help.”

Walt noticed Ellie’s pink face, but he never addressed her. “So, Hunter, what else do ya have against me?”

Hunter’s blood boiled because he had no evidence that Walt had done anything wrong, as his silence denoted.

Walt gave a curt nod. “Right, then. Well, if someone will let me back to my client, I’d appreciate it.”

Brock motioned for Walt to come with him. “I’ll take you.”

Walt ignored Ellie and Hunter, smiled at Cy and followed Brock. Ellie rose from her desk and hurried through the kitchen, exiting out of the door that opened into the yard. Cy’s dogs came running to her and she pet them as tears streamed down her face. She jumped when she felt hands on her shoulders.

“Come here, Ellie,” Cy said.

She let him turn her around and fold her in his embrace. A sob escaped her, and she hung onto him as she cried.

“That’s it. Let it out,” Cy said. “If you want to talk about it, I’ll be happy to listen. No judgment, no criticism.”

Ellie smiled against Cy’s chest. Outside of arguing with Brock, Cy was usually quiet and steady, having a calming influence on her. Sniffing, she pulled back and brushed away her tears.

“Thanks. Walt was good to me. Always doing nice things for me and sort of taking care of me. He knows how busy we get, and he tried to make sure I ate and rested. It was sweet.”

Cy’s forehead furrowed. “Was it that you didn’t have any romantic feelings for him?”

Ellie groaned and put a hand to her forehead. “That’s just it. I did, I do.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“It’s too much. What I feel for him is too strong.”

“I don’t understand,” Cy said.

“Rob told me that Walt can be possessive. I’ve been through that before with a man and I don’t want to go through it again. I want to be my own person, not be told what to do or when to do it,” she said.

Cy pursed his lips for a moment. “Ellie, you should’ve taken what Rob said with a grain of salt and told Walt your concerns. Take it from me: talking to the people you care about is important. Leigh taught me that. You know how buttoned up I used to be.

“I’m still not a chatterbox, but I talk a lot more than I used to. My advice to you is that if you care about Walt, talk to him about it all.”

Ellie nodded. “I’ll think about it.”